UPDATE 1-TradeStation Q4 profit meets Street view
* Forecasts Q1, 2009 profits below Street view
* Q4 EPS $0.18 meets analysts' estimates
* Q4 brokerage revenue up 34 pct
* Q4 net interest income falls 78.5 pct
Feb 19 (Reuters) - Online brokerage TradeStation Group Inc (TRAD.O) posted lower quarterly earnings due to a fall in net interest income but the profit matched analysts' estimates as brokerage commissions and fees surged on high trading volume.
The company also forecast first-quarter and 2009 profit below analysts' expectations.
Net income for the fourth quarter was $7.6 million, or 18 cents a share, compared with $9.3 million, or 21 cents a share, last year.
Net revenue rose 3 percent to $41.4 million.
Analysts expected a profit of 18 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $42.3 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
Brokerage commissions and fees, the biggest contributor to net revenue, rose 34 percent to $37.1 million. Net interest income fell 78.5 percent to $2.2 million due to interest-rate reductions.
During the quarter, TradeStations' daily average revenue trades, or DARTs -- a key measure of trading activity for retail brokerage firms -- rose 34 percent to 121,195.
The company said it expects first-quarter earnings of 9 cents to 11 cents a share, on revenue of $33 million to $37 million.
Analysts on average expect earnings of 13 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $36.3 million.
Shares of the Plantation, Florida-based company closed at $5.49 Wednesday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott)
